This is the 'Al Jazeera Arabic' studio. Al Jazeera (Arabic: الجزيرة‎) literally means 'the island' (but refers to the Arabian Peninsula).
With high fences around it, it's like a media island in the middle of Doha; over 4000 people work there day and night.

'Al Jazeera Satellite Channel' is not that old; it was launched in 1996 following the closure of the BBC's Arabic language
television station. It gained popularity in the region, since it was the only satellite broadcasting in the Middle-East.

Al Jazeera introduced a level of freedom of speech on TV that was previously unheard of in many of these countries.
Ironically Qatar, like many other Arab countries, barred individuals from having satellite dishes until 2001.

Al Jazeera was the only international news network to have correspondents in Iraq during the Operation Desert Fox
bombing campaign in 1998. Its exclusive video clips were highly prized by Western media. Bush and Blair apparently
did not like the free coverage that much, according to this article on CNN from 2005: link.

Al Jazeera launched an English language channel in 2006. This is a rare look into the studio of Al Jazeera English during
a live broadcast (which looks so much flashier than the AJ Arabic studio).

The most popular news channel in the region has been perceived as playing a pivotal part in the Arab Spring (the revolutions
in Tunisian and Egyptian). Its current coverage of the Syrian war has been criticized also; read an insiders opinion by an
ex-Al Jazeera journalist here.

It is remarkable to see many satellite trucks parked in between the buildings. I'm told that Al Jazeera faces often satellite
disruptions, of which they accuse the Iranian government. To avoid blocking of the signal, they're changing the angle towards
the satellite in space constantly with these mobile dishes. Also the online platforms have been hacked recently, probably by
pro-Assad Syrians (link).

Much more to say about Al Jazeera, but enough for this blog now. Just watch it :-)